Rex and Hannah Chronicles Story No 38: Innsmouth Revisted
by Tim66
Summary: As Rex and Hannah investigate the bizarre history of the nearby town of Innsmouth, the Inner Circle reaches a crucial decision.


DISCLAIMER: The characters of Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster are the property of Spelling Productions and were created by Constance M. Burge. The character of Randolph Carter and all Cthulhu Mythos characters are the property of the estate of H.P. Lovecraft.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story makes references to events in the H.P. Lovecraft stories _Dagon_ and _The Shadow Over Innsmouth_.

 **THE PLACE: ARKHAM, MASSACHUSETTS**

 **THE TIME: AUGUST 11** **th** **, 2015**

Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster were both in Rex's study, pouring over many of he old books and scrolls in Rex's collection. Both were looking for clues, any clues, about the possible return of the Old Ones. "Hmmm, this looks interesting," Rex said.

"What is it, Rex?" Hannah asked. "Which book have you got there?"

" _Unaussprechlichen Kulten_ by Johann von Juntz," Rex replied. "It was first published in Dusseldorf, back in 1839. Anyway, in one chapter, Mr. von Juntz refers to a story his grandfather, Gerhard, told him. Seems that when he was young, Gerhard von Juntz was a Hessian soldier, during the American Revolution."

"Hessian?"

"German mercenaries who fought for the British," Rex said. "Anyway, at one point, Gerhard von Juntz and some other Hessian soldiers briefly occupied a small New England town. The town itself in not named in Gerhard's account, but from the description he gives, it sounds very much like Arkham."

"What happened?" Hannah said with curiosity.

"From what I read here, Gerhard von Juntz began to hear strange stories about a mysterious group called the Inner Circle. Apparently, this group was sworn to stop 'enemies from outside', as the account puts it. However, before Gerhard could investigate further, he and his fellow Hessian soldiers were ordered elsewhere. He never got the chance to follow up on this Inner Circle, whatever that was." Rex paused, considering.

"Rex, do you think this Inner Circle, whoever, or whatever, they are, could still be around today?"

"I don't see why not, Hannah. There are other groups, the Freemasons, for example, who've been around for hundreds of years. I could easily see this Inner Circle lot surviving into the 21st Century."

"And you think that they want to stop the Old Ones?" Hannah asked.

"That's possible, Hannah. That cryptic 'enemies from outside' could easily refer to the Old Ones. In fact, Hannah, this might dovetail into the facts you've uncovered yourself."

"You mean those mysterious events that went on here in Arkham, as well as Dunwich and Innsmouth?"

"Yes, Hannah, that's it. You said that it seemed that someone was covering up all those events. This Inner Circle could be the ones responsible for said cover ups. Mind you, this is purely conjecture on my part."

"Yes, that could be it," Hannah said. "Yet why would they try to cover those events up?"

"That, Hannah, is a question only they know."

"In that case, there is something I need to look into," Hannah said as she got up from her chair.

"Anything I can help with?"

"No, I can handle this myself," Hannah replied as she left the room.

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

The sealed records room at Miskatonic University had not been entered in decades, at least that is the impression Hannah had gotten when she arrived, some forty minutes after leaving the house. Using her shape shifting abilities, she had morphed into a tiny kitten, and had reached the room via the air ducts. _Now, let's see what I can find out here,_ Hannah thought as she reverted to human form and took a flashlight out of her pocket. Hannah had been requesting access to these old records for weeks, but Dean Pickman had always rebuffed her. He had given excuse after excuse, there wasn't enough time, the records were old and delicate, and so on. However, Hannah had not believed any of them, she was being stonewalled, and she knew it. Rex's revelation about this mysterious Inner Circle had made her decide to finally take matters into her own hands. _Well, if this Inner Circle are the ones who've been stonewalling me, they're in for a big surprise._ Hannah thought as she began to prowl around the room. It wasn't long before she found a file cabinet with the label INNSMOUTH: 1927-28 on it. _Ah, this looks interesting._ Hannah thought as she put on some gloves, took out a nail file, and began to jimmy the lock. In no time, she had the file cabinet open and slowly began to remove the documents she found within. Apparently, they were accounts made by someone named Robert Olmstead. _Now, Mr. Olmstead, let's see what you found out about Innsmouth,_ Hannah thought as she took out her digital camera and began taking photos of the documents.

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

Back at Rex and Hannah's house, Randolph Carter had dropped by and Rex was bringing him up to speed on what the two former Warlocks had uncovered. "The Inner Circle? How interesting," Randolph said, once Rex had finished.

"You've lived in Arkham all your life, M r. Carter. Have you heard anything about this Inner Circle?"

"No, Rex, I haven't. However, I can ask around and see if I can find out anything."

"You do that," Rex replied. _Because, Mr. Carter, I don't believe you. You know exactly what I'm talking about. The question is why you're not coming clean with me._ Rex thought.

"I'll get right on it then," Randolph said as he turned to leave.

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

Soon after, Randolph was outside and heading back to his car with a worried look on his face. _Damn, things are moving faster than I thought they would,_ he thought. _Seems we've greatly underestimated the tenacity of Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster. I must convene the Circle so we can discuss our next move._

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

An hour later, Hannah had returned home from her errand and now she and Rex were up in her home office. "You broke in?" Rex said, once Hannah had explained what she had done.

"Well, they clearly weren't going to let me see those records," Hannah said as she finished uploading the pictures she had taken to her computer. "And when you mentioned that Inner Circle, I thought that it was logical that they were the ones who were blocking me. That means..."

"That Dean Pickman is a member," Rex said, nodding his head. "Yes, it would make sense that he would be. As Dean of Miskatonic University, he would have access to those records. Mind you, we have no proof of this."

"No, but I think we're on the right track," Hannah said. "Anyway, I found some interesting things about Innsmouth." She brought up the pictures of the documents she had taken.

"That town that the government raided back in the 1920's."

"Yes, and the reason that raid happened was because of a man named Robert Olmstead," Hannah replied. "Seems he spent some time in Innsmouth, back in 1927, and got scared enough to flee the town and call the authorities. The government raid happened not long after that. And here's the kicker. Robert Olmstead's family, on his mother's side, comes from Arkham. In fact, they still live here. Some of them have even served on the Board Of Directors for Miskatonic University at one time or another."

"Which might explain how those documents ended up in that records room," Rex said.

"Yes, Robert Olmstead wrote a detailed account of his time in Innsmouth, which his family turned over to Miskatonic University after he died in 1962." Hannah said, "I found that little bit of information annotated into the original documents."

"So what does Mr. Olmstead have to say about Innsmouth?"

"Quite a bit, actually," Hannah said. "Seems almost the whole town was controlled by some strange cult called The Esoteric Order Of Dagon."

"Wait! What was that name?" Rex asked.

"Dagon," Hannah repeated. "You know of that name?"

"Yes, Dagon is one of the Old Ones." Rex replied.

"Well, at least this one has a name I can pronounce," Hannah said. "Anyway, The Esoteric Order Of Dagon was established in Innsmouth in the mid 19th Century. Over time, it grew so powerful that all other religions were pushed out of the town."

"Quite an achievement for a mere cult," Rex said. "I think that The Esoteric Order Of Dagon was a little more than that."

"I agree," Hannah said. "In fact, if Olmstead's account is true, some of its members, well, they didn't seem quite human."

"How so?"

"Well, from what Olmstead observed, some of them seemed to have fish like features. Like they were hybrids of some kind, part human, part... Part whatever."

"Fish people," Rex said. "Well, we know that mer-people exist, Phoebe Halliwell's little misadventure back in '02 proved that. I wonder..."

"Yes?"

"Where did the mer-people come from originally. I mean they had to begin somewhere, right? They didn't just spring up out of nowhere."

"You think that Innsmouth, and whatever happened there, is connected?"

"Could be. Mind you, Hannah, this is just idle speculation here. Well, I think we both know what our next move is going to be."

"We going to Innsmouth," Hannah said, grinning.

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

 **AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION**

"Well, Master Carter, now what?" Brother Howard asked. The Inner Circle had assembled, as Randolph had ordered them to, to discuss the current situation.

"What do you mean?" Randolph asked.

"He means that they know about us. Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster have discovered our existence," Brother Philip said.

"Yes, they have. And?"

"Master Carter, how can you be so calm about this?" Brother Howard said. "We were not yet ready to reveal our existence to them. The time is not right."

"Sometimes things don't work out as we want them to," Randolph said.

"Master Carter is right," Brother Pickman said. "We're going to have to adjust our time table. It will be difficult, but not impossible."

"You see, my brothers, there is nothing to worry about," Randolph said. "Everything is under control. I can assure you all of that."

"Master Carter, the question remains. What are we going to do about this?" Brother Philip asked.

"Well," Randolph began. "I suggest that we..."

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

 **INNSMOUTH**

 **AUGUST 12** **th**

The town of Innsmouth seemed to be a typical New England seaside town to Rex and Hannah, at least that was the impression they got as they arrived in the town. _Of course, most of the current inhabitants are descended from the inflow of people that came here in the years following World War II,_ Hannah thought. _I wonder how much they know about what the strange history of Innsmouth._

"Penny for your thoughts, Hannah," Rex said as he guided the car into the parking lot of the motel, where they had made reservations the previous day.

"Oh, I was just wondering about this town," Hannah said. "I mean it all looks so normal. If we didn't know the history of this place, you would never suspect what had once gone on here."

"Well, Hannah, you can easily understand why Innsmouth might not want to advertise the fact that it was once controlled by those that worshipped one of the Old Ones."

"Still I have to wonder. What do the current inhabitants think what happened here?" Hannah asked.

"I would imagine most believe the official story," Rex replied. "That Innsmouth was a hotbed for bootlegging, and the government did what it did to shut it down."

"By blowing up buildings?"

"Yes, it's not a perfect cover story, mind you. However, it is a feasible story. Besides, as you discovered, Hannah, most of this lot, or their ancestors I should say, didn't arrive here until the late 1940's and later. They would have had no first hand stories of the events that preceded the government raid," Rex said. "Come on, let's get ourselves checked in and then we'll get started."

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

Later, Rex and Hannah were eating lunch in one of Innsmouth's small diners. As they ate, they went over the research they had managed to gather. Their table was full of notes and both their laptop computers. "Well, it seems that The Esoteric Order Of Dagon was headquartered in a building that had belonged to the Freemasons. The Order more or less kicked the Masons out and took over the building," Hannah said as she munched on a hamburger. "That was one of the buildings blown up in the government raid."

"Well, it fits with what we've managed to uncover about them," Rex said. "They more or less took over the town. What did you find out, Hannah?"

"Quite a bit," Hannah replied and looked down at her laptop. "I took a full look at the documents that Robert Olmstead wrote. They tell quite a story. It all started with a sea captain named Obed Marsh, who lived here in Innsmouth in the mid 19th Century. Apparently, while sailing the South Pacific, Marsh encountered some creatures called the Deep Ones, who lived beneath the sea. When Innsmouth fell on hard times, Marsh and some followers managed to call up the Deep Ones and bring them here to Innsmouth. This did cause an increase in the town's wealth, more fish were caught, which meant more profits. However, there was a price to pay. The Deep One apparently began demanding human women to mate with. Needless to say, the towns people were not too thrilled with that idea. When they refused to comply, the Deep Ones attacked the town and slaughtered more than half its population. The survivors were left with no choice but to offer human women to the Deep Ones to mate with. That's when Marsh founded The Esoteric Order Of Dagon, which would control the town until Olmstead blew the whistle on them decades later."

"So this would be at least fifty to sixty years," Rex said. "More than enough time for the hybrid children of the Deep Ones and the unfortunate human women they mated with to be born and grow up." Rex fell silent, thinking.

"What is it, Rex?"

"I was thinking of something I found myself," Rex said an consulted his laptop. "In 1916, a merchant marine sailor, I was unable to find out his name, was captured by a German sea raider. He eventually managed to escape that raider, and soon discovered an unknown island. On that island was a city of some kind, which contained carvings of beings that looked like fish men, at least that's what the poor fellow said. Anyway, he managed to escape from that island, but when he got back to civilization, no one believed him. Later attempts to locate that island were unsuccessful."

"What's the connection?" Hannah asked.

"This incident happened in the South Pacific," Rex said. "The same region where Obed Marsh found his Deep Ones. Surely that can't be a coincidence."

"No, I don't think it can be just random chance of two such events happening twice in the same part of the world.," Hannah agreed. "I wonder where these Deep Ones came from?"

"I have an idea on that," Rex said. "Mind you, it's purely conjecture on my part, but it does fit."

"What is it?"

"Well, Hannah, you know that, thousands of years ago, the Old Ones sent the Mi-go here to Earth in advance of their aborted invasion. The Mi-go settled in remote regions, to keep an eye on humanity. One of those regions was the Australian Outback."

"Which is not far from the South Pacific," Hannah said.

"Yes, and what I think may have happened is that these Mi-go, for reasons known only to themselves, decided to move from land to the sea."

"Is that even possible?"

"From what I've learned about the Mi-go, I would say yes, Hannah. The Old Ones created the Mi-go to be very adaptable. It's possible that they could live under the sea as well as on land."

"So these Mi-go were the Deep Ones," Hannah said.

"Yes, and for some reason, they became more bolder. Rather than hide from humanity, like the rest of the Mi-go did, this lot interacted with humans. It's likely that some even mated with human women, like the Innsmouth lot did. This could be how the mer-people originally got started, perhaps being offshoots of these human/Mi-go hybrids. Although, as I said, this is all conjecture here."

"Well, it makes sense," Hannah said. "It would explain how Obed Marsh was able to make contact with the Deep Ones. Heck he managed to establish a dialogue with them, because they were willing to talk to humans. I wonder if he stumbled upon that same island as that sailor you mentioned did."

"It's possible, yes. The South Pacific was not so well charted back then," Rex said.

"Yet it is now. Why hasn't anyone else found that island?"

"I suspect that it was one of those islands that are brought to the surface by volcanic activity, and then, a few decades later, sink again. Of course, the Mi-go themselves may have had something to do with that, but there is really no way to know for sure," Rex replied.

"Well, it seems that the Deep Ones, when Marsh brought them here, settled at the bottom of the sea, near Devil Reef. That's the reef a few miles offshore from here," Hannah said. "Do you think that they could still be down there?"

"Well, Hannah, you did say that the U.S. Navy fired torpedoes into that reef back in the 1920's," Rex pointed out. "I would assume that, after that, the Deep Ones might have found it prudent to go elsewhere."

"Still, I think we should take a look."

"Do I look like Jacques Cousteau to you?" Rex said, his eyes going wide.

"Aw, come on, Rex, what harm will it cause?" Hannah said. "If there is anything left down there, I think we need to find it. It might give us clues as to what happened here."

"Oh, very well," Rex said, once he saw the look of determination on Hannah's face. "I'm sure there is a place here where we can procure the equipment we'll need for this underwater expedition."

"This is. I already checked into it before we came here for lunch."

 _Touche,_ Rex thought.

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

A hour later, Rex and Hannah were out in a boat by Devil Reef. They had rented the boat, and some SCUBA gear, from a surplus store located near Innsmouth Harbour. Now they were getting ready for their dive. After carefully checking each others SCUBA gear, to make sure all was well, the two former Warlocks plunged into the sea. _Hannah sure is determined about this,_ Rex thought as they descended down by the reef. _Yet almost ninety years have passed since the U.S. Navy torpedoed this area. How can anything be left?_

 _I can understand why Rex has his doubts about this,_ Hannah thought. _Yet, I'm sure there must be something here._ The two former Warlocks switched on the underwater lights they had brought with them, illuminating the murky water around them. Hannah moved down deeper, sweeping her light along the edge of the reef as she went. It wasn't long before she made a discovery. What appeared to be blocks of stone appeared half buried in the sea bed. _No way those are natural,_ Hannah thought and gestured to Rex.

 _She's found something,_ Rex thought as he quickly went down and joined Hannah. Soon, he too spotted the blocks of stone. _Those do appear to be manufactured._ The two of them began to probe the area, finding more stone blocks. Some of them appeared to have writing of some kind on them, but the decades sitting at the bottom of the sea had taken its toll. The writing was all but illegible. _Damn, I wish I could read that._ Rex thought. _Still, this does confirm that the Deep Ones had been here at one point. I wonder where they are now? It's a big planet, lots of oceans and seas for them to hide in. Still, with humanity probing deeper and deeper into the seas, a confrontation is possible._

At that same time, Hannah made another discovery. What appeared to be a small statue was sticking out of the sea bottom. Hannah reached down and managed to pull it free. She gestured to Rex. Soon, the two of them were heading back up to their rented boat.

 _Seems this was a productive expedition after all,_ Rex thought.

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

Some time later, back in their motel room, Hannah watched as Rex used solvents he had brought along to clean the statue. Soon, the features were more clear, and were not pleasant to look at. _If the Creature From The Black Lagoon and the Little Mermaid had a love child, it might look like that,_ Hannah thought. "What is it?" she asked.

"Hannah, this is a statue of Dagon," Rex replied. "The Mi-go would no doubt have such a statue of one of the beings that created them. This goes towards confirming my theory of the Deep Ones being Mi-go who had adapted to living underwater."

"So it would seem. What's our next move, Rex?" Hannah asked as she continued to stare at the statue.

"I think it's time we went home, Hannah, I get the feeling we've learned all we're going to learn here."

 **OOOOOOOOOO**

 **ARKHAM**

 **AUGUST 13** **th**

Rex and Hannah were in Rex's study, staring at the statue of Dagon, which was sitting on

his desk. "What are you going to do with that thing?" Hannah asked.

"Keep it," Rex replied. "It is a valuable clue, after all."

"Yeah, I guess. Still, I don't think I'll be craving sea food for a while."

" I think it will be hamburgers for me too, for a while at least," Rex said.

"So I guess my theories were right," Hannah said. "That whole The Esoteric Order Of Dagon thing, the Deep Ones, and all that. It was an attempt to bring back the Old Ones."

"Yes, it would seem so," Rex said as he picked up the statue. "I have to wonder, did Obed Marsh and his followers really know what was going on, or were they just dupes. I suppose we'll never know for sure. Still, it was a good thing that Olmstead chap happened by and exposed them before it was too late."

"You know, Rex, I've been thinking about that," Hannah said. "I mean did Olmstead just happen to be there at the right time. Or..."

"What are you getting at, Hannah?"

"I'm wondering if, in fact, Robert Olmstead was sent to Innsmouth, to gather intelligence about what was going on there."

"He was," a new voice said. Rex and Hannah looked up to see Randolph Carter standing in the door of the study.

"Why, Mr. Carter, I didn't hear you come in," Rex said.

"Sorry about that, but I think it's time you two met some people. Some you already know," Randolph said. He stood aside and a group of men entered the study. Some Rex and Hannah did know, such as Dean Richard Pickman, Robert Howard, the Mayor of Arkham, and Joseph Philip, the Chief of the Arkham Police. The other men were complete strangers.

"Rex, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Hannah asked.

"Yes, Hannah, I am," Rex replied and then addressed the group of men facing them. "The Inner Circle, I presume..."

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**


End file.
